JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (ANGJ.J) said on Tuesday 1 September it planned to raise $284 million in a share issue to finance its proposed acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Moto Goldmines (MGL.TO).

Anglo Gold, Moab Khotsong in South Africa - Photo: www.anglogold.com

The world's third-biggest gold producer said it would offer a total of 7.62 million shares at a price of $37.25 per American depositary share and 288.32 rand per ordinary share. The company earlier forecast an issue of around 7.8 million new shares.

"AngloGold Ashanti intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund its proposed acquisition of a 50 percent indirect interest in Moto Goldmines ... including AngloGold Ashanti's 50 percent share of certain other liabilities and expenses directly related to the Moto transaction," it said.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as the sole bookrunner for the offering, which is scheduled to close on September 8, it said.

AngloGold and another African miner, Randgold Resources Ltd (RRS.L), teamed up in July to make a counterbid worth C$546 million ($496 million) for Moto Goldmines, which owns a project in the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.

Moto has since backed the cash-and-shares offer, saying it was "financially superior" to the all-share offer from Red Back Mining (RBI.TO).

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Will Waterman)

($1=1.101 Canadian Dollar)